Problems in the new border control agency, AIMA, as systems breakdown and immigrants are now being told to pay a 400 euros fee in order for their cases to be finalized: https://twitter.com/expresso/status/1788721179798147474Migration Agency gives immigrants ten days to pay fees of 400 euros
“There is no right. 400 euros is a lot of money”, says Turkish Levin, one of the many immigrants who gathered today at the institution's headquarters, in Lisbon, to try to ask for clarification on the change in the rules for paying scheduling costs.
According to electronic messages sent on Wednesday night to immigrants with expressions of interest who are waiting to schedule a meeting to complete their processes or as part of family reunification, AIMA demands advance payment of the costs.
For spouses of immigrants in a regular situation, the cost is 33 euros, for citizens of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) the cost is 56.88 euros and for the rest the total is 397.90 euros , payable in a few days.
“We received 1,763 emails about this”, lawyer Catarina Zuccaro, a specialist in these processes, told Lusa, who is critical of the decision, although she admits that the values are those practiced, but only at the time of scheduling and not before.
“People have been waiting for years and now they are asking to pay in advance for something they didn’t have. This worries. Everyone is super scared, because they are afraid of losing everything. A lifetime of waiting for a visa and those who live on a minimum wage have great difficulty paying 400 euros at once”, said the lawyer, who accuses AIMA of “solving their problems and not those of immigrants”.
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